Gansu Province First Forced Labour Camp, also called Pingantai Forced Labour Camp, is located in Pingan Town, the Honggu District, Lanzhou City. The facility is one of the major sites where hundreds of detained Falun Gong practitioners in Ganzu Province have been tortured since July 20th, 1999. The guards and drug addict inmates use savage, inhuman methods to torture practitioners in a attempt to try to compel them to give up their belief in Falun Gong.

Incidents of torture during 2008

In January 2008, practitioner Mr. Gu Zeyuan from Wuwei was grossly abused. Guard Li Wenhui (a team political head that was removed from his post in March) beat him ruthlessly, then placed him in confinement for seven days with his limbs stretched in the shape of an "X" and tied between two beds. He developed severe illness symptoms and was first hospitalized and then transferred to the Dashaping Labour Camp Hospital.

In April 2008, Lanzhou practitioner Mr. Dong Huide was put in the "repentance1 room" for more than 40 days straight. He was forced to stand for long periods of time. He was permitted at most four to five hours of sleep and occasionally only three hours.

In June 2008, because practitioner Mr. Li Zhanting from Zhenyuan refused to be reformed, he was forced to stay up late to "study" until between midnight and 2 a.m. and had to work on Saturdays and Sundays. Han Ximing, the division head, and Zheng Jun, the team political head, beat him between June 27th and 29th.

Between June 4th and 14th, 2008, practitioner Mr. Kang Shangwen from Jingchuan County refused to be "reformed" while being evaluated in the Education Section. He was placed in the "repentance" room for ten days. During that time, his arms were stretched apart and handcuffed to two metal-frame bunk beds. The bunk beds were separated by 1.7 metres. Mr. Kang is less than 1.7 metres tall. While he was handcuffed, four guards took turns brainwashing him. Mr. Kang was prohibited from sleeping for seven days in a row. He was given only two meals a day, allowing ten minutes each time to eat. Only one of his handcuffs was removed while he ate. In the afternoon of the first day, division head Han Ximing (police # 6222219) covered the electric baton with a newspaper. Moving the two "designated inmates" from the room, he then used the electrical baton to shock Mr. Kang's face, lips, cheeks, and neck while reviling him for nearly 20 minutes. The two inmates outside heard the loud sounds of the electric shocks.

Mr. Kang's face was burned and otherwise injured in many places, including his lips. The wounds were infected the next day and later formed thick scabs. Beginning that day, Mr. Kang's legs and feet started to swell, and on the fourth day his legs were so swollen that his knees were invisible. Fingers pressed into his legs would leave deep indentations, a sign of acute water retention. His blood vessels also became invisible. The injuries to his feet were still apparent after three weeks.

Practitioner Mr. Yue Fengtai from Tianzhu wrote in his diary that prison guards had beaten Li Zhanting. As a result, the guards had a talk with Mr. Yue. The group head and designated inmates monitored his movements and what he said. On July 4th he refused to be "transformed" or to write his personal responses.

Group head Ma Ping (a drug addict) and designated inmates Yuan Fang, and Liu Wei beat practitioner Mr. Kang barbarically. They covered him with a quilt and continued to beat him. On July 14th they locked himin the repentance room. During the 20 days that followed he had to stand up the whole time and was not allowed to sleep. Designated inmates further beat him savagely, and the guards reviled him. He was mentally and physically traumatized severely.

Practitioner Dong Huide, a college student, was forced to stand for more than 40 days and permitted to sleep for only three or four hours.

Mr. Zhang Yanfu, a practitioner from Tianzhu, had surgery in 2007 and had to remain in the hospital once he was sentenced to forced labour in October 2007.

Since July 2nd, 2008, the camp's officials from the Education Section gave practitioners "tests" and "evaluations." Because the practitioners refused to be "reformed," camp authorities intensified the persecution. Practitioners Mr. Kang and Mr. Yue Fengtai were placed in the repentance room. The officials changed the rules; instead of once a month, they required practitioners to write personal responses once a week and take tests and be evaluated once a month instead of the previous once every three months.

Prison guards Han Ximing, Zheng Jun, and Li Wenhui have violated the first of the "Six Prohibitions for the People's Police in Labor Camps" issued by the Ministry of Justice. They have not only reviled but also tortured Falun Gong practitioners. They have ignored the rules and incited drug addict inmates to beat, torture, and abuse practitioners.

A brief review of the circumstances of 12 currently detained practitioners

As of September 2008, Team 11 in Division 6 (specifically designated to detain Falun Gong practitioners) is holding 12 practitioners from the whole province. They are follows:

Li Qinben, 48 years old, works at the Ning County Trade Bureau in the Qingyang District, sentenced to one year and six months of forced labourLi Zhanting, 30, a native of Zhenyuan County in the Qingyang District, does odd jobs, sentenced to one year and six months of forced labourKang Shangwen, 37, a pharmacist at the Jingchuan County Chinese Medicine Hospital in the Pingliang District, sentenced to one year and six months of forced labourLi Ziqi, 56, a peasant and native of Qingning County in the Pingliang District. sentenced to one year and three monthsMa Tongjun, 53, a peasant and native of Jingning County in the Pingliang District, sentenced to one year and three monthsZhang Zhenxing, 53, a peasant and native of Jingning County in the Pingliang District, sentenced to one year of forced labourZhang Yunlong, 42, a peasant and native of Jingning County in the Pingliang District, sentenced to one year of forced labourDong Huide, 38, college student and a native of Lanzhou City, does odd jobs for a living, sentenced to one year and three months of forced labour (second time)Zhang Yanfu, in his 50s, a Tianzhu County Weather Bureau government official in the Wuwei District, sentenced to one year and six monthsYue Fengtai, 39, a native of Tianzhu County in the Wuwei District, has a two-year college degree, sentenced to two years of forced labourGu Zeyuan, 39, a native of Wuwei City, does odd jobs for a living, sentenced to two years of forced labour (second time)Hou Youwu, 44 years old, a peasant and native of Huangjiaquan Village, Hexibao Township in Jinchang City, sentenced to two years of forced labour

People and sections involved in the persecution of Falun Gong Practitioners

As of November 1, 2007, the North Ward facility was moved to the South Ward. Team 16 was also moved to the third floor in Building 3 in the South Ward.

In March 2008, Team 16 was renamed Team 11.

Division 6:Political head Huang Yongkui was transferred. Sun Baotang was removed from his post as deputy head. He was drunk while on duty at night, got into troubles, and hit Falun Gong practitioner Hu Yaorong. Duan Jiping was transferred here as the new team head, and Zheng Jun was named the political head.

Team 11:Li Wenhui was removed from his post as the political head. He used to put all his efforts into persecuting practitioners. Wang Cheng was named the new political head.

The following is a list of the sections and people who are involved in the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in 2008 since all the transfers:

1. Repentance Statement: In this statement the practitioner is forced to admit remorse for practising Falun Gong, promise to give up Falun Gong, and never again associate with other practitioners or go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong.